Device for raising sunken ships



P. KAWINSKI.

DEVICE FOR RAISING SUNKEZN SHIPS. APPLICATION FILED 0CT. 1, 1918.

1,331,014. Patented Feb. 17,1920.

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FIG. 1

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P. KAWINSKI. DEVICE FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS. APPLICATION FILED 0on1, l9l8.

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PETER KAWINSKI, OF PERTH AlJIBOY, NEW JERSEY.

DEV ICE FOR RAISING SUNKEN SHIPS.

Application filed October 1, 1918.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER KAwINsKI, a subject of the Emperor of Austria, having declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Perth Amboy, in the county of Middlesex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for'liaising Sunken Ships, of which the following is a specification.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an inexpensive means for locating a sunken ship and attaching means thereto for raising the same to the surface of the water.

A further object of the invention is to provide means carried by a ship whereby its position can be located from the surface of the water when the ship is at the bottom of the ocean and also providing means for readily attaching elevating cables thereto adapted for raising the ship.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts therein,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ship provided with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a View illustrating the ship at the bottom of the ocean with my device in its operative position for indicating the location of the sunken vessel;

Fig. 4; is a central longitudinal sectional view of the grappling device attached to the ship;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the same; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are transverse sectional views taken upon line VI-VI and VII VII, respectively of Fig. 5.

In the drawings there is illustrated a ship 10 having its deck 11 provided adjacent each of its opposite ends with a reel 12 upon which a cable 13 is wound with the free end of the cable extending through a passage 14: in a conical block 15 hinged as at 16 to the deck.

Passages 14 are made on the inner sides of the blocks 15 adjacent the reels 12 for readily receiving the cables 13 which extend outwardly of the other end 17 of each block at the pointed end thereof and are attached to suitable floats 18 normally positioned'upon the deck 11. WVhen the ship 10 sinks to the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

Serial No. 256,412.

- cables 13 is adapted to be threaded when its float 18 has been picked up by a vessel upon the surface of the water and the float removed for this purpose. The blocks 15 are each provided with an annular undercut shoulder 24: making the block substantially arrow shaped in central longitudinal section as shown in Fig. 4: of the drawings.

A plurality of arms 25 are hinged as at 26, to the heads 22 and the cable 13 extends centrally therebetween when the head 22 is mounted upon the cable, while springs 27 carried by the block 22, engage the arms 25 normally holding the same in contact with each other. A hoisting member such as a heavy chain or cable 28 is attached to each of the heads 22 and when the grappling members 21 are mounted upon the cables 13, the grappling members are lowered by reason of their own weight until the arms 25 pass over the barbed end of the block 15 upon the adjacent end of the ship whereby the grappler 21 is secured to the block 15 and the ship may be elevated by means of the cable 28. It will be understood that during the downward movement of the grapplers 21 the cables 13 will be held taut by those in charge of the device at the surface of the ocean, until the grapplers 21 have become fixed upon the blocks 15. The arms 25 are provided with curved recesses or seats 29 for receiving the shoulders 24, inner flanges 30 being formed upon said arms for engaging beneath the shoulders 24. The position of the ship 10 is readily detected by means of the floats 18 while the grapplers 21 possess great strength and are easily attached to the blocks 15 forming strong connection therewith calculated to provide a safe anchor for the hoisting members 28 in drawing the ship upwardly to the surface of the water. The device is serviceable for submarine chasers and the like which may be readily provided with the locating means herein described and the grappling means forming a part of my invention may be readily provided for cooperating therewith to be carriedby other engine vessels or Salvage concerns.

What I claim as new is The combination with a ship, of a block hinged to the deck thereof, and having an opening therethrough, an annular shoulder formed adjacent the free upper end of the block, a reel upon the deck, a cable upon said reel freely extending through the opening in said block and projecting from its end, a float carried by the free end of the cable adapted for normal positioning upon the deck whereby the float will be positioned upon the surface of the water when the ship becomes submerged, a grappler having a head provided with an axial bore through which the cable is adapted to be threaded for slidably mounting the grappler thereon when the float is removed from the cable, the opposite faces of said grap-pler being cut away, one of said pairs of cutaway portions being longer than the other pair, opposed pins extending transversely of said cut-away portions at the inner ends thereof, arms swingingly carried by said pins and having inwardly directed flanges at their lower ends curved upon the inner faces adapted to automatically engage the annular shoulder at the upper end of the block, a flat spring secured to each side of the head with the free end thereof overlying andengaging the adjacent arm at a point outwardly of the median line thereof, and hoisting means attached to said head.

in testimony whereof I affix my signature.

PETER KAWVINSKI. 

